Skip Engagement
by AnimeOtaku4444
Summary: When Kyoko's mother, Saena, shows up out of the blue, looking to blackmail her long-lost daughter for money, Kyoko is left with no other choice. Leave the Showbiz industry, or get married? But who would be willing to marry her on such short notice...?
1. The only thing he could do

Mogami Kyoko and Tsuruga Ren headed out through the front doors of LME after a long day's work, with Yashiro, Ren's manager, trailing absent-mindedly behind them, whilst scribbling furiously in a small notebook. Usually they'd go through the back door, but there was a subway entrance near the front doors, and Mogami planned on taking a train to go visit her best friend, Moko. They'd only just stepped outside when Mogami spotted her, and froze to the spot. She was the last person Mogami had ever thought she'd see again. It felt like all the blood drained from her body, she was cold, and couldn't move. She couldn't even breathe. She may not have seen the woman in years, but how in the world could she possibly not have recognised her?

Ren took one look at Mogami's ashen face, and wide, horrified eyes, and knew immediately that something was terribly wrong. He looked in the direction Mogami was staring in, and saw a woman. She'd seen Mogami's reaction to spotting her too, and she was smirking. Ren instantly disliked her. The woman sauntered up to Mogami, who was still completely frozen, and trembling from head to toe. "Arra! Fancy meeting you here, _Kyoko_. Aren't you going to greet me? How rude." Mogami could only get a single, shaky word out. "Mother…" Upon hearing just that one word, Ren's eyes flew wide open. He understood right away why Mogami was reacting to the woman in the way that she was. He was also filled with a rage which he hadn't experienced since he'd still been Kuon.

Ren pushed himself between Mogami and her mother. This woman had made Kyoko's childhood a living hell, and then abandoned her when she was still just a little girl. He wasn't about to let her just walk back into Mogami's life, so she could torture and crush her all over again. Enough was enough. "What are you doing here?" Saena just smirked at him. He wanted with every fibre of his being to punch that smirk right off of her face. His 'Tsuruga Ren' act was slipping. Kuon was fighting hard to break out after five years of being shut away. "Isn't it obvious? I'm here to see my daughter. I was ever so surprised when I spotted her name among the credits for Dark Moon. If she didn't want me to find her, the silly girl should have used a stage name, right? Who ever thought that useless little brat would ever actually amount to anything. It was quite a shock for me."

Ren growled, and lunged at the woman. If Yashiro hadn't unexpectedly grabbed him, and pulled him back, he would've broken Saena's jaw. She just laughed at him mockingly. Yashiro had to use all of his skill and strength to keep Ren pinned. Seeing Ren like that was what woke Mogami from her spell. Ren needed her. The darkness in him was winning. Cain needed Setsu, so for him, that was who she would become. She would become Setsu, so she would have the strength to face the woman who had abandoned her little girl so many years ago. "Congratulations, woman. You found me. What did you expect to accomplish by coming here?" Her mother's eyes narrowed. "Just who are you calling 'woman', Kyoko? I'm your mother. You'd better not forget it."

Setsu sneered at her mother. She was neatly dressed, but her clothes looked old, and inexpensive. Obviously life hadn't been easy on her in the last few years. "Don't be a dumbass. I haven't had a mother in years. She's been dead to me ever since she walked out on me. That's not a mother. That's just a useless, trashy woman who happened to make a kid. Karma sure can be a bitch though, can't she? You're looking shabby, Saena." Mogami's mother seethed, but she was soon smirking again. "You might consider me to be dead, but the law doesn't, and you're still a minor. I came here to get what's mine. You wouldn't exist in this world today if it weren't for me, so why should you be successful, earning lots of money, while I suffer in poverty? Kyoko, if you don't give me 50% of everything you earn from now on, I'm going to force the president of LME to fire you.

Sure, you could try to re-enter showbiz after you've turned eighteen, but by then Japan will have forgotten all about you. Instead, they'll be fawning over other, more talented newcomers. You have one week to decide." With that, she turned to walk away. Mogami's eyes blazed, as a fury she'd never felt before warmed her cold body, and set her blood to boiling. "I DON'T OWE YOU A DAMN THING, YOU'RE NOT MY MOTHER! IF YOU WANT MY MONEY, YOU'LL HAVE TO DIG IT OUT OF MY COLD, DEAD HANDS!" Everyone within a twenty meter radius froze, and stared at Mogami. It was even enough to snap Ren out of his rage, and stop fighting to get free from Yashiro's vice-like grip.

Saena's smirk just grew crueller, before she turned and she walked away. Setsu fell to her knees and started punching the pavement, hitting it with all her strength, screaming and crying tears of anger. By the time Ren managed to reach her, and stop her, her fists were already bloody. Yashiro helped carry her back into LME. Soon, Setsu sat on Lory's sofa. Her eyes still blazed, tears still leaked from her eyes, and she was clenching her fists tight enough for her nails to draw more blood. Ren just sat next to her. He didn't know what he could say to make things better, so he did only what he could. He picked up Mogami's bag, dug inside it until he found the little purse, took out the stone he'd given Mogami as a child, and offered it to her.


	2. I can't marry Moko

Suddenly, Setsu fled Mogami's body, and she couldn't be angry anymore. She could only sob, and clutch the stone to her chest. Ren placed one hand on her back, wishing with all of his heart that there was something more he could do for the girl he loved, who was in so much pain. Yashiro stood in the corner with Lory, explaining what had happened. When the whole story was out, Lory sighed deeply, and the pair walked over to sit on the sofa opposite Ren and Mogami. Sebastian brought Kyoko some tea, with a tablespoonful of mint liqueur in it to help calm her nerves. When she'd stopped sobbing and shaking, Ren helped her to drink it. It was exactly what she'd needed. Then, Mogami spoke again for the first time since her encounter with her mother.

"I remember the time once, when you told me that if I had a mother, I needed her permission to be employed here, because I'm a minor, but when I told you that she wasn't a part of my life, you let it go. That's changed now, hasn't it? You'll really have to fire me, won't you?" Lory looked sadly at Kyoko. "That time, I was able to ignore it because, although I didn't have all of the details, it seemed clear to me that that woman was completely out of the picture. That's no longer true." Mogami's eyes started to dim with defeat. She just didn't have it in her to battle her mother anymore. She'd had enough. That woman had won. Kyoko wasn't making as much money as her mother thought she was. There was no way she could give half of everything she made to her mother, and still pay for her living expenses.

She would just have to go back to being a nobody, with no life, and no future. That was fine by her. She was used to it. She'd been that person for sixteen years. What was the point of trying to pretend that she was any better than that now? Ren saw what she was thinking in her face, and knew that he would do anything within his power to return her happiness to her. "President, what if she got herself declared a legally emancipated minor? Lots of teenagers do that in America. That would remove any claim her mother might have on her, right?" Lory shook his head. "It would be fine if this were America, but Japan doesn't have any laws like that. When I first discovered that Kyoko-chan didn't have her mother's permission to work here, I had LME's lawyers look into it, just in case something like this came up. The only solution they could find, was for Kyoko-chan to get married."

Mogami's face shot up to look at the President. "EH?" Lory smiled gently at her. "You see Kyoko-chan, if you were to get married, which is perfectly legal for a seventeen-year old, with or without parental consent, that would have the same effect as the legal emancipation of a minor law which they have in America. You mother would no longer have any power over you, and she couldn't force me to fire you. You could continue on here at LME. If you want, I could help you find a decent husband very quickly." Mogami thought about it carefully. It was true she was never supposed to fall in love again, and she'd never thought she could ever marry someone whom she didn't love, but desperate times called for desperate measures, and surely she'd never in her life been in more desperate times than she was in now.

But, despite what the president said, who on earth would want to marry Kyoko, and on such short notice? Why would a stranger ever agree to something like that, and how could she possibly accept marrying a complete stranger? No, she wanted it to be somebody she knew. In her heart of hearts, she wanted to marry Ren, but there was no way she could possibly do that to him. He deserved so much better. The Beagle only loved her feelings of hatred for him, so he was no good. That only left… The man she hated more than any other on the entire planet. "Thank you President, but I couldn't possibly marry a complete stranger. Although I never thought I would say this, I'm going to force Fuwa Shotarou to marry me. He owes me a huge debt, and I know enough about him to destroy his career if I ever chose to. He'll have no choice but to go along with it."

Ren froze in his seat next to her. FUWA SHOTAROU? HIS ARCHNEMESIS? HER MORTAL ENEMY? HOW WAS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE? He had to think. FAST. "Kyoko-chan, when picking a husband there are several vital things which you need to consider. A husband has as much power over their wife as her parents once had, after all. You have to marry somebody whom you can trust with that power, somebody you know would never use it to hurt you, or make you do something you didn't want to. Do you really think you can trust Fuwa Sho that much?" Mogami looked away, biting her lip. "No, of course not. I wouldn't trust Shotarou as far as I could throw a cathedral. But there are only two people in my life whom I would trust with my happiness like that.

One of them is Moko, but obviously I can't marry her. The other is someone I could never ask so much of. I care about him too much to do that to him." Ren's eyes widened slightly. "Then, Kyoko-chan, what would you say if he proposed to you, without any prompting from you?" Mogami looked back at him, wearily. "I'd say 'Yes!' in a heartbeat. But there's no way he would ever do such a thing." Ren smiled at her. "I wouldn't be so sure about that if I were you, Kyoko-chan." With that, he slid off the chair, and knelt before her on one knee. This time it was Mogami whose eyes went wide.


	3. Could the real Tsuruga please stand up?

"Kyoko-chan, I was afraid to tell you this before, because you're still in high school, and because I believed that you deserved someone better than me. You've seen hints of my true self, when I've been acting as Cain Heel and Black Jack. I used to be a violent, dangerous guy. I was even partly responsible for the death of my best friend. He got run over because of me. 'Tsuruga Ren' isn't my real name. That's just a role I've been playing for the last five years. I've been pretending to be the good, kind Ren, because I didn't want to be that terrible person anymore. If you can still accept me though, knowing this about me, then nothing would make me happier than if you were to let me marry you, because, Kyoko, I've been in love with you for almost a year." Ren stared up at Mogami, terrified of what her reaction to his confession would be. She knew now, exactly what a fraud he was.

Mogami's mind was racing. There were a million questions she wanted to ask, but she could see in his eyes, just how vulnerable Ren was right now. "I want to meet him. The real you, that his. He looks different, doesn't he? I want to know his name, too. When I've properly met the real you, I'll give you my answer. Is that acceptable?" Ren nodded once, stood, and walked to the room where he knew Jelly Woods would be, waiting for her 'darling' to finish work and take her home. Lory whispered something into Sebastian's ear. The faithful assistant left the room immediately after, and soon returned with a bundle of clothes, which he took to the room Ren had disappeared into.

While Ren was being transformed into his true self, Lory gave Yashiro and Mogami the full story about Ren's past. "He grew up in America. His parents were amazing actors, and he was a good looking kid. Because of that, many people thought that the many acting jobs he was getting had nothing to do with his own abilities, and that he actually had no talent. As he got older, the bullying got worse. Other boys started beating him up, and saying that he wasn't even human, because he was a part Japanese mutant monster. They beat him up so many times, but he never fought back. Then, his best friend Rick told him that by not fighting back, he was encouraging the bullying, that he had to stand up to them. So, one day soon after that, he did fight back.

He was outnumbered by a couple of dozen to one, but he was extremely good at Karate and Gymnastics, and he'd beaten them all senseless after a few minutes. When Rick showed up, he had to pull Ren off one of the men. He was going to kick him, even though the guy was already unconscious. He could've killed him. Then, one of the men got up and ran off. Ren ran after him, but the man came back in a car. In the darkness, he must have mistaken Rick for Ren, and he ran him over. Rick died on impact. Ren has blamed himself for Rick's death ever since.

It was after that night, that I went to America, and brought Ren back to Japan with me. I helped him transform into Tsuruga Ren, a man with no parents, and no past, who would become a great actor to prove to the world that he'd done it with his own abilities. He believes that, until he's done that, he can't let himself go back to being who he was before. For five years, he had no contact at all with his own parents. It was extremely hard on them, because they loved him very much, but they were just trying to do what they thought would be best for him, what they thought he wanted them to do. This will be only the second time since he was fifteen, that he's allowed himself to become that man for a few hours."

Three minutes after Lory had finished talking, Kuon walked into the room where they were all waiting for him. When Mogami saw him, she gasped. He didn't have to tell her who he was. She knew him already. She'd seen this person before. "Corn? Tsuruga Ren is actually my fairy prince, Corn?" Kuon smiled sadly at her. "I'm sorry, Kyoko-chan. I wanted to tell you, but I didn't want to be the one to destroy those memories you had of me. I didn't want you to find out that Corn wasn't the fairy prince you were so enchanted with" Mogami smiled fondly, her eyes brimming with fresh tears. "What are you talking about, Corn? If you're Ren-kun, then everything he said about you growing up to be a good adult, with wings strong enough to let you fly, must have been true. After all, you were telling me about yourself, and who could know you any better? I'm really happy for you, Corn, that you grew up so well."

Then it was time for Yashiro to meet the real Ren. "Ren, Corn isn't your real name either, right? Although, you'll have to tell us more about that later... Tell me, what is your real name?" Kuon looked sadly at his best friend. "I'm so sorry, Yukihito. I wanted to tell you, but I was scared to let anybody find out what I really was. My real name is Hizuri Kuon. By the way, Kyoko-chan, I was very impressed with your interpretation of me. Father was also very surprised at how accurately you portrayed me." Mogami grinned. "I was only able to play you so well, because I was thinking of how Corn would behave. The son Father described sounded just like the way I remembered Corn. It actually doesn't really surprise me to find out that Corn was Father's son Kuon after all. I'd already suspected it, when I heard how similar the names were. The way father said his son left though, I thought Kuon had died. I'm very glad to see that I was wrong."


	4. Dreaming of loss

Kuon smiled his true, honest, loving smile at Mogami, the blindingly bright smile which could slaughter every one of her vengeance demons in one go. Only, now that he was Kuon, that smile seemed just a shade or two brighter than Mogami remembered it being. It must have been the magic of her fairy prince shining through. Mogami stood, and walked up to Kuon, until she was right in front of him, and her expression saddened. "Kuon, I'm very sorry. That time, you listened carefully to all of my troubles, and you even gave me your precious magical stone to make me feel better. Even so, I never asked you about your troubles. You must have been very sad back then. You've even said that yourself, before. But I never tried to make you feel better. I was a terrible friend to you."

Kuon's smile softened even more. "Kyoko, just being able to spend time with you, a sweet, innocent little girl who was hurting just as much as I was, was more than enough to make me feel much better. I was so glad that I was able to make you smile. You'll never know just how precious those memories have been to me over the years." Kyoko smiled that same dazzling way she had when she'd been the little girl he'd met by the river in Kyoto. "I've missed you so much, Corn!" Kuon smiled sadly. "So have I. I've missed being Corn. I'm sorry, Kyoko, but I'm not your fairy prince anymore. I'm just Kuon, and he's a terrible person. I know I don't deserve to have anything to do with you, but I just can't bear the idea of letting you go. Can you forgive me, Kyoko?"

Kyoko placed one hand on Kuon's cheek. "You're wrong, Kuon. A part of you will always be my Corn, and I will always love that part of you. As for you being a terrible person, well, that might have been true for an hour or two five years ago, but you were never meant to be that Kuon, and you've come so far since then. That's not the really Kuon. Corn is the real Kuon. Tsuruga Ren is the real Kuon. You're exactly who you were always meant to be. You're the good, kind man that I love." Kuon looked at Mogami with a shocked look on his face. A single tear spilled from his left eye. He didn't even feel it. "Kuon, you love me too, right? Let's get married, Kuon. I bet Father will be really happy when I've become his daughter for real."

Two days later, after much string-pulling and favour-calling by the President, a small ceremony was held on his estate. The dress Kyoko wore was the one she'd worn in Fuwa Sho's promotional video, where she'd acted as the angel who killed the devil to save her best friend. Lory had had it tracked down for her. The couple from the Daruma-ya came to represent Mogami's parents, Moko was her maid of honour, and Maria-chan was her bridesmaid. Hizuri Kuu and his wife, Julia, came for Kuon, and Yashiro was best man. Lory officiated. Every precaution was taken to ensure that the media was kept completely in the dark. That was how Mogami Kyoko became Hizuri Kyoko, the wife of Hizuri Kuon.

They both wore plain platinum wedding bands. Kyoko also wore the engagement ring Kuon had insisted on buying her the day before. It also had a platinum band, but the gems it was studded with had been cut from the special stone he had given her when he'd been Corn. Lory paid for their honeymoon as well, insisting that he be allowed to do so as his wedding gift to them. Thus, that night they boarded a private airplane to one of the small islands in the East China Sea, a part of Okinawa Prefecture. For all the incredibly embarrassing comments he'd been getting throughout the reception, mostly from Kuu and Lory, about 'enjoying his wedding night', Kuon and Kyoko spent the entire flight sleeping, exhausted after a long day of wedding preparations, and then a day of celebrations.

Neither of them had any energy left to do anything more than kiss each other goodnight. Besides, just that much was enough to get Kyoko blushing like a cooked lobster anyway. When their plane touched down, a flight attendant woke the pair, and they disembarked. They fetched their luggage, and found the driver who'd come to take them to their hotel in a white limo. They got to the hotel just before dawn. They were still tired, so they took turns in the shower, before climbing back into bed. At first Kyoko stayed on her side of the bed, and Kuon stayed on his. He didn't want to pressure Kyoko into anything, and frighten her, but he was finding it increasingly difficult to control his 'Emperor of The Night'. Kyoko was stiff as a board, much like that time when Kuon had gotten her to share a bed with him before. She'd only gotten through it at all by thinking of her role as Setsu.

Now, she couldn't even do that. After all, they were most definitely not the Heel Siblings at the moment. After an hour or two, exhaustion finally won, and Kyoko drifted off to sleep. When that happened, she relaxed. Kuon just lay there, watching her. He loved seeing her peaceful face right next to him. Then, her face changed. She looked upset. She started mumbling in her sleep. Kuon got closer, leaning over her with one elbow propping him up, to hear what she was saying. "Wait, Corn… where are you going? Don't leave me again, Corn…" Kyoko shifted, her hand reached out, and found Kuon's chest. He'd worn pyjama pants to bed to spare Kyoko, but he'd left his shirt off, just to see how she'd take it.


	5. The Emperor at her back

Now, Kuon could feel Kyoko's hand on his bare skin, and it was driving him crazy. But Kyoko smiled, her peaceful expression returning. "There you are, Corn. Don't go anywhere. Stay here, with me. It's nice here." Then she draped herself half on top of him, and snuggled into his chest. Kuon looked at the calm, happy look on his wife's face, and his burning desire melted into a warm, fuzzy feeling. Thus, he lay back down, and put his arms around her waist. He fell asleep blushing, with a gentle smile on his face. That was something which hadn't happened in more years than he could remember.

Kyoko woke up feeling warm and comfortable, with an unfamiliar warm and fuzzy feeling in her heart. She felt like she'd had the best dreams all night. She started to stretch her legs a little, and the warmth beneath her moved, and squeezed her a little. She opened her eyes, and realized that she was sleeping half on top of a shirtless Kuon. She blushed bright red, but she forced her body not to tense up. She didn't want him to wake up yet. She lay her head back down over his heart, and snuggled into his warmth. She closed her eyes, doing her best to pretend she was still asleep. What she didn't realise, was that Kuon was doing the exact same thing.

He'd thought Kyoko would freak out when she woke up, springing away from him and bowing her apologies profusely. When she nuzzled his chest and pretended she hadn't woken up yet, Kuon couldn't take it anymore. He decided to take advantage of the situation, just a little, and kissed the top of Kyoko's head. He whispered words of live in her ear, caressed her cheek, and hugged her against his body. Kyoko couldn't contain a slight blush. She just prayed Kuon wouldn't notice, and nuzzled against his chest a little more. For a couple of minutes they lay together like that. Then Kyoko's stomach growled, and Kuon realised that he REALLY needed the bathroom.

Kuon gently extricated himself from Kyoko, and tip-toed to the bathroom. Kyoko pretended to wake up when he came out, then she took fresh clothes into the bathroom, and they both got dressed. When they were ready for the day, and realised that it was already noon, and neither of them had eaten in many hours, they went exploring the hotel, looking for a restaurant to have lunch at. They ate quietly, with a bit of Kyoko's usual prodding for Kuon to eat properly. Neither were really sure what to talk about. Kuon didn't like the awkwardness, so he asked Kyoko about work. She started telling him more about her role of Natsu for Box R, and about her co-star Chiori. Kuon was truly amazed to hear about how Kyoko had handled the difficult situation, and the incredible results she'd gotten.

Thinking back, he could remember watching the bullying scenes she was talking about. He remembered how realistic and intense he'd found them at the time. Now he understood why. After lunch, they decided to go out for a movie. Kuon was a little surprised and embarrassed when Kyoko insisted on seeing a movie which Kuon had recently acted in, but she was adamant, claiming that she learnt a lot about acting from watching him. Her eyes were glued to the screen for the next hour and a half. They window-shopped until late, and Kuon made Kyoko let him buy her two swimsuits. After all, they were vacationing on an island. He got her to give in by using his puppy-dog eyes, and the line "Kyoko, are you really going to deny your husband the happiness of spoiling his wife, and watching her play happily at the beach in a nice bikini?"

Kyoko blushed, but she had no powers of resistance when it came to Kuon's puppy-dog face, so she quickly gave in, and let him drag her inside a clothing store. They ate supper at a restaurant in town, before heading back to their hotel room. Kyoko showered first, but instead of coming out right away, she decided to try their room's soaking tub. Her muscles were still a little sore from the unnatural position in which she'd slept on the plane. She Kuon heard the water, and realised what was going on, he just couldn't resist. He wrapped a towel around his waist, walked into the bathroom, ignored Kyoko's surprised squeak, and stepped into the shower. When he was done, he was surprised to realise that Kyoko hadn't fled from the tub, like he'd thought she would, so he decided to take it a little further. Wrapping the towel around his waist once more, he stepped into the tub next to her.

Kyoko was blushing, and kept her eyes averted, but she still didn't try to make her escape. That just emboldened Kuon even more. He decided to see just how far he could push his luck without crossing the line. "Kyoko, come over here so I can wash your back. It would be wrong of me to neglect my duty as your husband." Kyoko gulped at the prospect, and then meeped at the realization that he could be implying that she was neglecting her duty as a wife by not offering to wash_ his_ back. "Alright, Kuon. When you're finished, I'll wash yours too." Kuon smiled his 'Emperor of The Night' smile, while she had her back turned.


	6. Just feel it

He took a soft washcloth from the basket of complimentary items on the sink counter, and gently rubbed at Kyoko's back, taking care to massage her shoulders while he did so. Her small moans, and the way she leant into his touch, might as well have been battering rams being applied to his delicate control. When he was done, the bath's hot water felt cold compared to the burning desire beneath his skin. He took a fresh washcloth from the basket, handed it to Kyoko, and moved to sit in front of her. She rubbed his back the same way he'd rubbed hers, only a little less gently. She was used to scrubbing properly, after all, from her days of working in that Kyoto inn. The extra pressure was proving to be almost more than Kuon's control could take. A little, more, and the damn would burst. When she started massaging his shoulders, he started growling with pleasure.

The strange sound lit something inside Kyoko. She wasn't sure what it was, but she was pretty sure she liked it. Kuon's responses gave her a little more courage, so she decided to do something which she'd normally be too mortified to even think of trying, but which she'd done numerous times in some of her wilder dreams. She kissed Kuon's right shoulder, and then gently bit the same spot. Kuon's eye shot wide open, and his entire back arched from the pleasure. In that instant, the last thin membrane of his control shattered into a million pieces. He twisted around, wrapped one arm around Kyoko, grabbed the side of the tub with his other arm, and kissed Kyoko senseless.

When she absolutely HAD to breath, he moved his hot lips and tongue to her jaw, then her throat, then her breast. She tasted of soap, and clean skin. He couldn't get enough of her taste. Kyoko moaned and squirmed, shocked by the power that was Kuon's unleashed Emperor of The Night, and the amount of pleasure he was bringing to her body. She'd never done anything like this before, but she was glad that her first time, and every time for the rest of her life, would be with this man. She didn't know what to do, but she wanted to do more than just lay back, and leave all the work up to him. "Kuon… Teach me how to make you feel this good…" Her words were like pouring jet-fuel on the flaming bonfire which was his desire. He growled fiercely, almost lost for words. "Next time, I'll teach you. This time, it's enough for you to just feel it."

Kuon stood, picked up Kyoko, and carried her to the bed. He dropped her onto the soft mattress, still wet, and climbed on top of her. He caressed, massaged, kissed, licked, and playfully bit her more times than she could count, mostly on her breasts, but also on her arms, sides, stomach, throat, and eventually, her legs as well. She was panting and trembling with pleasure, and she could feel something powerful building up inside her. Then, Kuon's tongue touched her _there_. It only took a couple of strong, playful strokes before she came, hard. Kuon didn't stop, though. He kept licking and suckling, even as she writhed and screamed beneath him. He kept playing with her until she came a second time, even stronger than she had the first time.

He gave her a couple of seconds to breathe, and compose herself, before he moved back up her body. He returned to kissing her, passionately and fiercely, devouring her lips and tongue, exploring every millimetre of her hot mouth's confines. With one hand, he played with her right breast. His other hand went to her folds, and he carefully inserted a single finger inside her. He gently pumped, stretching her in careful preparation. After he added a finger, then another, until she started riding all three fingers. When he was sure she was ready for him, he removed his fingers, which he used to coat Kuon Jr. with Kyoko's juices, before carefully aligning himself with her entrance, and slowly pushing inside her.

Kyoko squirmed a little with discomfort. She'd never had anything inside her before. She'd always been too shy to experiment, or attempt pleasuring herself in any way, so she was still very tight, and it hurt a little. Kuon distracted her, and himself, by attacking her mouth and breasts once more, until she'd relaxed and adjusted around him, and a not-so-gentle thrust of her hips let him know she was ready for him to move. Kuon started thrusting, slowly at first, but quickly getting faster, until Kyoko couldn't keep up with him anymore, and he let himself go in a wild, chaotic rhythm, which only stopped when he finally achieved his release, deep within her. Exhausted, he leaned down, placed a final, loving kiss on her forehead, and collapsed next to her.

After a few minutes of trying to regain their breaths, the pair crawled to the top of the bed, and under the covers. They spent the rest of the night peacefully curled up together, naked, hot, and utterly sated. They slept in a little the next morning, but still wound up waking up a bit early. They'd gone to bed fairly early, after all. When Kyoko's senses returned to her, she realised with a blush that Kuon's body was already eagerly awaiting round two, even though he was still sound asleep. She was curious, and decided to take a chance. She started touching it, gently rubbing and squeezing Kuon Jr.


	7. The three month flu

This caused Kuon to start moaning and growling in his sleep, and occasionally muttering 'Kyoko…', which pleased the woman in question no end. When Kuon's eyes opened, it was to the sight and sensation of Kyoko tentatively licking Kuon Jr.'s head. A bolt of heat shot through him, and he was instantly awake. Kyoko licked her lips, and innocently said, "You promised me that next time you'd teach me…" They didn't leave their room to get dinner until several hours later, and by then Kyoko's legs still felt a little like jelly. She and Kuon were sore for almost a week after that morning.

Their honeymoon ended sooner than they would have liked, but they both had important work to return to after all. They couldn't keep the various directors who were relying on them waiting forever. So, one week after leaving Tokyo, they arrived back, and got straight back to work. Since they'd been gone so long, and so much had had to be rescheduled, they were kept busier than ever for the next month. It didn't help when the press realised that Tsuruga Ren was wearing a wedding band, and discovered Kyoko, also wearing a wedding band, leaving his apartment one morning. After that, the two of them could hardly go anywhere without being hounded by the paparazzi. There was one less thing which they had to worry about, at least. Their plan had worked.

Two days after they'd gotten back from their honeymoon, just before the press had noticed Ren's change in marital status, Kyoko's mother had shown up again, this time at the back entrance. She'd been all smug about finding Kyoko, saying things like "You were seriously deluded if you thought you could hide from me forever." But then it was Kyoko's turn to be smug. She held up her left hand, clearly displaying her sparkling engagement ring, and the plain platinum band behind it. "Sorry, Saena, but you no longer have any say in my life. I may be a minor, but I'm married now. Legally, that means I'm the only one with any say in my life from now on. Nice try though." Kyoko walked down the alley, past her mother, and climbed into Ren's car.

Thanks to Ren's encouragement, and incredibly skills, Kyoko had become much more confident in the bedroom, and that had carried over into her day-to-day interactions with Ren as well. It made acting as Setsu MUCH harder, but luckily there were only a couple of days left, filming for that movie, so the roles of the Heel Siblings could soon be dispatched. Aside from that, Kyoko was still Kyoko, so when she developed slight nausea, a mild fever, and a late period, she simply thought she was coming down with the flu, and went to the doctor for a shot. Luckily, the doctor wasn't as dense as Kyoko was, and recommended that she take a blood test. He told her to return the next day for her results. The guy figured that if there was a blood test involved, she couldn't attempt to refute his diagnosis.

Kyoko hadn't wanted to worry Ren over what she was certain was nothing more than the flu, so she hadn't told him about her visit to the doctor the day before, or the appointment she had with him that morning. Instead she told him that her Box R shooting was going to run a bit longer than usual, because the director wanted to do as many scenes as he could while the weather was still good. That much was true, but what she didn't tell him was that she was only needed for three of those scenes, and her scenes would be shot first, so she'd be finished pretty early if they didn't have to do too many re-takes. As predicted, she finished early, and made her doctor's appointment with time to spare.

Her doctor decided to come straight out with it. With oblivious women like this one, beating around the bush would only confuse them. "Mrs. Tsuruga, it's my pleasure to inform you that your blood test has confirmed that you are pregnant." Kyoko's eyes grew to the size of saucers. "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEH? But that's impossible!" The doctor looked surprised. "Oh? Why is that?" Kyoko started stammering. "Because I'm not even… Because I never… Because we didn't… Because…" With each failed sentence, and as realization slowly started to sink in, Kyoko's face became paler and paler. The doctor smiled gently. "This is good news, right? It's okay for you to be happy about it."

Kyoko looked down, but she wasn't really looking at anything. "I didn't want children. What if I become like my mother? What if I hurt them, and end up leaving them? What if I'm never able to make them happy?" The doctor's face saddened. So that was it… How sad. "You know, many children come from broken or unhappy homes these days. That's a sad fact of life. And yes, many of those children grow up to be just like their parents, and end up hurting their own children. But some of those children decide that, no matter what, they'll never let themselves become like their parents.

They work hard every day, and do their best, and become good people, and wonderful parents. Whether you become like your mother or not, is up to you, Mrs. Tsuruga. You get to choose. It's not something predetermined. Besides, if you already want to be better than you mother, you've already taken the first, and most important step towards being better than her, don't you agree?" Kyoko looked up, a little bit of hope entering her eyes. "Do you really think I can be a better parent than my mother was to me?" The doctor smiled gently. "I think that, if it's you, then it's definitely possible. When you think about this baby, how does it make you feel?"


	8. What Kuon wants

Kyoko closed her eyes and thought about that. She imagined her belly slowly growing, and feeling the baby move inside of her. She thought about seeing her baby for the first time, and holding the tiny bundle. She imagined the baby looking into her eyes, and Kuon standing next to her, squeezing her hand, and giving her one of his dazzling smiles. She pictured the baby slowly growing up, and the three of them being a normal, happy family. She even thought about how she might feel if anything bad were to happen to her baby, like a miscarriage.

"I think… I think I already love my baby. I want to keep it safe, and happy, forever. I want to meet her, and hold her. I want everything to be okay in the future." The doctor smiled brightly at her. "See? You're already a wonderful mother." Kyoko smiled, and began to cry. "Thank goodness… I've been worried about that for so long. I really didn't know what I should do." The doctor patted her hand, and smiled again. "There now, why don't you go home and give your husband the good news?" Kyoko smiled brightly at him, thanked him for his help, and left, glowing with the thought of becoming a mother. When she thought about it, she wasn't really bad with children. After all, she got along splendidly with young Maria. Perhaps she could do this after all.

She was halfway across the lobby when, suddenly, a terrible thought popped into her head. Somehow, it was even worse than the idea of her becoming like her mother. What if Kuon turned out to be like her father? She'd never discussed the possibility of having children with Kuon. She had no idea if he wanted to wait a couple of years before having children, like most couples did these days, or if he even wanted children at all. For all she knew, he could hate the idea of having children of his own, just as she had for so long. She was still in High School, and that had been a serious barrier in their relationship for so long… Wasn't Kuon going to be really angry, realising that she'd gotten pregnant before she'd gotten her diploma? What if he even said something like, 'Now is the wrong time. You shouldn't have this baby. We can always have another one a few years from now.'

Aside from school, there were also their careers to consider. Tsuruga Ren was at the height of his career at the moment, or just about to reach it. It had been a huge scandal when the press had discovered, not even twenty days ago, that he had just married a high-schooler. That alone had been enough to put a big dent in his popularity. After all, she was still technically a minor for heaven's sake. What on earth would everybody discovered that he'd not only married a high-schooler, but that he'd also gotten her knocked up with a honeymoon baby? Even worse, everyone might think that she'd gotten pregnant BEFORE they'd gotten married, that her pregnancy was the only reason they'd gotten married in the first place. It wasn't all that far-fetched a theory, even if she knew for a fact that it wasn't true.

The media would always believe whatever it wanted to, and usually it wanted to believe the most scandalous situation possible. Also, her own career had barely taken off. She hadn't even officially debuted yet. A pregnancy right now, when most of the roles she was asked to play were those of a high-schooler, could ruin her entire career. If that was what it came to, she could live with that. Some things were more important than her own desires, and she wanted to make this baby one of those things. But still, Kuon would definitely be angry, wouldn't he? Oh Gods. If he told her not to have the baby… If he asked her to get rid of it, what was she going to do? She'd only just come to realise that she loved it, and that she wanted to protect it from any harm. What was she supposed to do if the man that she loved, the father of her baby, told her he didn't want this child?

Hearing those words from his mouth would kill her. She couldn't do it. She couldn't tell him. But she had to tell him, he was the father, and she loved him… But even just the thought of hearing him say such words triggered her morning sickness with a vengeance. She didn't know what to do. She needed more advice. There was only once person she could think of to call, only one person she could tell this news to before telling Ren. She pulled out her cellphone, and called Moko. Luckily, she picked up right away. "What's up, Kyoko-chan? Aren't you still shooting for Box R? Are they taking a break?" Although she tried her best to hide what she was feeling from her voice, the moment Kyoko spoke, Moko knew with absolute certainty that something was very, very wrong.

"Moko-chan, are you the only one in the room at the moment? I don't want anybody hearing your end of this conversation, if that's okay with you." Moko replied without hesitation. "Yes, it's just me in here. What's wrong?" Yashiro silently made a note to himself to remember in future that Kotonami Kanae was a frighteningly good actress. "Moko-chan, do you think you could fetch me from the hospital?" Kanae's eyes widened in surprise. "The hospital? What are you doing there? Are you okay? Does Kuon know you're in a hospital?" Yashiro shot Kanae a look of worry, but she held up a hand to keep him from speaking, and giving his presence away.


	9. Moko's words of wisdom

"I'm alright, Moko-chan. I just came today to get the results back from a blood test I took yesterday. The news wasn't bad, but I'm not sure it was good, either. I really need someone to talk to about it, and you were the only person I could think of. Please don't say anything to Ren or Yashiro-san, I'm not ready for Ren to find out about this yet. Please Moko-chan, promise me!" Kanae nodded. "Don't worry, I won't breathe a word about this. Which hospital are you at? Okay, I'll be right there." Kanae hung up, and started to leave. When she reached the door, she turned back to Yashiro, whose tie was half undone, and had lipstick on his face. "Don't say anything to Kuon yet. I want to get the full story from Kyoko first. I'll call you if I need anything." Yashiro just nodded, and fixed his tie. "Call me soon."

Kanae drove to the hospital as quickly as she could without being reckless. It didn't take her long to get there, but when she did, what she found wasn't encouraging. She couldn't see Kyoko anywhere in the lobby, so she thought to try the bathrooms, just in case Kyoko had popped in there while she was waiting. There, in one corner, Kyoko sat huddled in a corner, her legs pulled up against her chest, crying her eyes out. She looked up when she heard Kanae enter, and ran over to her, giving her a big hug. For once, Kanae didn't try to avoid her or stop her. "Moko-chan! I don't know what to do!" Kanae awkwardly patted her friend on the head. "There there, Kyoko-chan. Why don't you let me take you to my house. I'll make you some tea, and you can tell me all about it. Then we can figure it out together, alright?" Kyoko just nodded against her chest, and followed her lead out to Kanae's car.

She didn't say anything again until Kanae had gotten her inside her house, and put a cup of tea in front of her. Then, she broke the news to her. "Moko-san, today I found out that I'm pregnant." Kanae's eyes went wide, and her jaw hung slack. She was very glad she hadn't served herself some tea as well, or she probably would've ended up spraying it all over her expensive carpet. "Well… that's not quite what I was expecting, but… that's great news for you, right Kyoko-chan? What's got you so upset?" Kyoko just started miserably at her tea. She took a sip before she continued. The sweetness helped her calm down a little.

"At first I was worried because I've never wanted children. I've told you before, about how awful my mother was, and I've always worried that I would become like her, and make any children I had miserable, or even abandon them the way she did me. I was really scared that I wouldn't be able to be a good mother to this baby, and make it happy. I talked it over with the doctor though, and he helped me to see that I didn't have to become like my mother if I didn't want to. He showed me that, the fact that I was already so worried about the baby just showed that I will make a good mother. I was really happy when I understood that. I was really happy when I realised that I already loved the baby, and wanted to keep it. It was only when I was leaving the hospital, when I started to think about what Kuon wanted…"

"You think Kuon-kun isn't going to want the baby?" The look on Kyoko's face was answer enough. "I'm sure he's going to be really angry. I'm still a minor, and I'm still in high school. That's always been a major concern for him. He never would've married me so soon, if I hadn't been forced by my mother's threats to find a husband right away. When the media found out about our marriage, it caused a huge problem for his image, and his career was put in danger. What if it ends his career when the press find out about our baby? The media is sure to start all sorts of rumours about us, and make terrible amounts of trouble for us. My career is also certain to be severely damaged by having a baby right now. I don't mind that, but I'm sure Kuon will. My career is very important to him, because he knows how much I've come to love being an actress.

I know he's good with children, because I've seen him with Maria-chan, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's ever wanted children of his own. Even if he does want to be a father someday, he probably wanted to wait a few years before we started having children, don't you think? I'm sure that's the case." Kanae gave a big sigh. Somehow it reminded Kyoko of Ren's 'No Good' sighs, which he'd give when he thought she'd slipped out of character. "Kyoko-chan, two years ago you thought you were NEVER going to attend High School, let alone get your diploma. This baby might delay things for a semester or two, but I'm sure you'll still get your diploma. You're a very bright girl. I'm sure Kuon knows that too.

As for the press affecting your careers, there's no such thing as bad publicity, right? Besides, they can only really affect the careers of lousy actors. When it comes to the truly great actors like Kuon and you, your talent is so amazing that you'd probably have to commit murder, or rob a bank, for the public to turn their backs on you, and your careers to be completely destroyed. With a young-love pregnancy, you might get gossiped about for a while, but I really wouldn't worry about it affecting the two of you receiving job offers. I'm sure Kuon will realise that as well. I wouldn't worry about him not wanting kids, either, or wanting to wait before starting a family. If that was really important to him, don't you think he would've made sure that it didn't happen in the first place? Wouldn't he have asked if you were on the pill, or made sure he was wearing protection?"


	10. Choosing sides

AN: To celebrate 50 reviews, I'm posting 2 chapters today. A double-feature. Yays! If I get 100 reviews, I'll post 3 chapters on one day. Thank you so much for your support, everyone! I know how rushed my story is. Some day, when it's finished, I will go back and completely re-vamp it and flesh it out, throwing in more supporting charachters, looking at things from Ren's point of view more often, and going into much more detail with Kanae x Yukihito gooey goodness. In the mean time, to make up for my abruptness, I'll be bringing the story into a surprising, and very exciting new arc. I hope everyone enjoys!

Kyoko blushed profusely, but she realised that everything Moko was saying made perfect sense. Kuon was a smart man. He was wild, and sometimes his self-control wore thin, but above all else, he was smart. If he didn't want children, or he wanted to wait, he WOULD have made sure that the proper precautions were taken. The fact that he didn't had to mean he wasn't completely against the idea, right? Now that she thought about it, many young actresses had built successful careers, and been mothers at the same time. If she played her cards right, surely she could do the same thing? She might need a little help and advice, but she was friends with some of the biggest names in the industry, Lory Takarada, Yashiro Yukihito, one of the best managers in the business, and her Father-in-law, Hizuri Kuu. Surely they could help her get through this, if nobody else could.

Yes… Maybe, just maybe it would all turn out alright after all. Just then, Kanae's phone rang. She checked the number first, but when she saw who it was, she decided to take the call. "Hello. How can I help you." Yashiro grimaced. "Kuon-kun's looking for Kyoko-chan. Apparently she told him Box R would be filming late today, but when he called there to see how she was a minute ago, they told him she'd finished filming her scenes hours ago, and left as soon as she was done. He's with me now. I told him you'd gotten a call from her, but I didn't want to give him any details until I was sure it was alright with Kyoko-chan. Are you still with her? How is she?"

Kanae smiled gently. "She was a wreck when I found her, but I think she's feeling better now. I'm not sure if she's ready to talk to Kuon-kun about it though. Just let him know he doesn't need to worry. There's nothing wrong with her, she's just worrying herself like usual. I'll have her back to her old self, and back to Kuon in no time." Kyoko was watching her, and listening to everything she said, but she just chewed her lip, and looked a little anxious. Yashiro sighed, and told Kanae to call him back soon. "Kuon-kun's really worried. You know how protective he is of Kyoko-chan. If we don't give him something soon, he might well come over there and break your door down. I'll do what I can to keep him calm, for now."

When Yashiro had hung up, Kanae turned back to Kyoko. "You're going to have to tell him eventually, you know that right? He is the father after all." Kyoko nodded at the floor. "I'm just so scared. If he tells me he doesn't want the baby, or if he asks me not to have it, it'll kill me. I've just started to love this baby. There's no way I can do anything bad to it now, but I love Kuon so much… I don't want to lose either of them, and I'm terrified that he's going to force me to choose." Kanae stared hard at her friend, and asked the question Kyoko was dreading, but knew needed to be answered. "If he does demand that you choose between him and the baby, which one will you choose?" Kyoko closed her eyes, and allowed herself to admit the truth. "I'd choose the baby. No matter what happens, I can't let myself become the good-for-nothing, heartless parent that my mother was to me."

Kanae nodded. "Alright, you've made a decision. That's a start. I really don't think Kuon-kun is going to make you choose between him and the baby, or be upset when you tell him that you're pregnant. In fact, I'm so sure, that I'm going to make you this promise. I'm going to let you sleep here tonight. You've had a long day, and stress isn't good for the baby. I don't think you'd get any sleep if I took you home now anyway. You and Kuon-kun both have tomorrow off, right? Tomorrow morning I'll take you back to your apartment. I'll wait just outside the door, while you tell Kuon-kun your big news. If he doesn't take it well, just come back outside, and I'll bring you right back here. I'll ask Yashiro-kun to get your things, and you can move in here with me, okay? There's plenty of room in my house for my best friend and her baby. How does that sound to you?" Kyoko stood, walked over to Kanae, and gave her a crushing hug. "Thank you so much, Moko-chan!"

True to her word, after breakfast the next morning, Kanae drove Kyoko to the apartment she shared with Kuon, took the elevator up to the correct floor with her, and waited outside the front door while she went inside. Kuon was sitting in the living room, his head in his hands. It didn't look like he'd slept or eaten since he's discovered that Kyoko was missing. When he heard her key in the door, he jumped up and reached for the handle, opening the door before she could. She was startled, and she'd been nervous enough as it was, so she'd instinctively taken a step back. Kuon noticed, and that alone was enough to force his self to take a deep breath, and calm himself down. "Kyoko, please come inside. I'm sorry I startled you, I've just been so worried… Are you alright?" When Kyoko didn't answer him, he sighed, took another slow, deep breath, and stepped back.


	11. Believing Kuon

AN: As promised, the second half of your double-feature special. Thank you so much everybody, for helping me to reach 50 reviews! That's a first for me, so I'm really excited. There'll only be another chapter or two before the next arc of this story begins. I hope you all enjoy it. '^.^'

"I'm sorry. Please, come inside. Have you had breakfast?" Kyoko just nodded. It upset her that Kuon obviously hadn't slept or eaten, but they had to talk. She could make him breakfast afterwards, if things turned out well. If they didn't… Well, he'd just have to make his own breakfast, or starve, but she really didn't want to think about that. She walked over to the sofa, and patted the seat next to her. Kuon took the hint, and sat down by her side. Kyoko took a deep breath, and started. "A while ago, I thought I was starting to come down with the flu. I didn't want to get sick, and trouble all of the people I work with, so two days ago I went to the doctor. He didn't think I had the flu, but he wouldn't say what he thought I actually had. He told me to get a blood test, and come back the next day for my results. I didn't want to tell you about it until I was sure it was something serious. You've been under so much stress since the press found out that you married a high school student, so I didn't want to make you worry if it turned out to be nothing."

Kuon placed a hand on Kyoko's cheek. "Kyoko, no matter how much pressure I'm under, I always want you to tell me what's going on in your life, be it good or bad, trivial or major. That's what a husband is for, you know." Kyoko smiled and nodded at him, but then her face became worried again. "Yesterday I went back for my results. They weren't bad, but they were still unexpected… Kuon, I don't have the flu. I'm pregnant." Kyoko chewed her lip, and held her breath. Kuon's eyes shot wide open, and his mouth slackened. His reaction was exactly the same as Kanae's had been. "A… A baby?" Kyoko just nodded. Kuon turned his face, and stared at the floor. He looked like he was deep in thought. "A baby…" He blushed, suddenly. When he looked back up at Kyoko, his smile was the brightest she'd ever seen it. The sun couldn't even begin to compare. It took her breath away.

"Kyoko, we're really having a baby, aren't we?" She smiled tentatively, and nodded. Kuon grabbed her in a tight hug. "Thank you so much, Kyoko. I love you." Kyoko blushed, and gently pushed Kuon back. "You're really okay with this? You didn't want to wait a while, before we started a family? You aren't worried about what the press might say, or what it might do to our careers?" Kuon's smile didn't dim a single watt. "Kyoko, I've never been this happy in my entire life. We're married, and now we're going to have a baby. What else could possibly matter, right?" And when he said it like that, Kyoko really believed he meant it. Tears sprung to her eyes as she tackled Kuon, and started kissing him senseless. He just laughed, and held her tighter.

Kanae smiled to herself, and walked back to the elevator. When she got down to the lobby, she met Yashiro on his way up. He stopped when he spotted her. "She's back with him? Are they okay?" Kanae smirked. "Those two are going to be just fine. The reason Kyoko-chan was freaking out yesterday was because she got some good news, but she didn't think Tsuruga-kun would be as happy to hear her news as she was. It turns out she had nothing to be worried about. Tsuruga-kun was ecstatic when she told him that she's pregnant." Surprisingly, Yashiro didn't seem shocked in the least. He just gently smiled. "I thought it might be something like that. Well, I was hoping. I didn't mention it to Ren, just in case I got him all excited for nothing, but it looks like everything has turned out exactly as I was hoping it would, after all. I may not seem like it, but I'm a hopeless romantic, you know."

Kanae smiled back at him. "Well, Mr. Hopeless Romantic, now that you don't need to check on Tsuruga-kun, how about you show this girl a good time. I haven't seen one in a while." Yashiro smirked, adjusted his glasses, and held out his arm to Kanae. She took his arm, and the pair left the building, chatting and laughing. What few people knew was that, much in the way Ren and Kyoko had become friends, and then fallen in love, after many chance encounters, running into each other fairly often because they both worked at LME, and once got cast in the same TV drama, Yashiro and Kanae had been doing quite a bit of running into each other of their own, and had secretly grown VERY close. It looked like Kanae might be graduating from the 'Love Me' section soon, and poor Chiori and Mimori would be the only members left.

x x x x x x x x x

The next day, everyone who knew the truth of Ren being Kuon, which was to say, everybody who'd been in attendance at Kuon and Kyoko's wedding, were invited to Lory's office for a big announcement. Only Yashiro and Kanae, who showed up strictly for moral support (and the entertainment of seeing everyone else's faces when they heard the news) knew for certain what was going to be announced, but some of the others thought they could guess, and were hoping they were right. Hizuri Kuu and Julia were on a big computer screen, Skype calling from America. When everyone was gathered, Kuon and Kyoko smiled at each other, and as they'd agreed beforehand, Kuon broke the news. "Everyone, thank you very much for coming here today. We asked you to come here because we wanted to share some good news with you. It seems that Kyoko and I are going to have a honeymoon baby."


	12. Family time

The girls (except for Kanae, who just smiled, and Julia, who was stuck in America) squealed, jumped up, and ran to hug Kyoko and congratulate her. Lory pounced on Kuon, Kuu did a happy dance on the computer monitor, and Sebastian and Taisho from the Daruma-ya stood slightly awkwardly to the side, but secretly felt very happy for the young couple, who were obviously very much in love, and looking forward to becoming parents. Since Lory was there, the event turned into a private, but extravagant party. At one point, Taisho presented Kyoko with a special dish which he'd secretly made just for her, just in case his wife's suspicions had been correct. The dish was one traditionally made for expectant mothers. That particular gift brought small tears to the corners of her eyes, and a huge, brilliantly shining smile to her lips.

Kuon received a large box of very expensive cigars from Lory, but Kyoko forced Lory to take it back, saying that second-hand smoke would be bad for the baby, she didn't want her husband getting jaw cancer in fifty years, and they didn't even know if the baby was a boy or not, so there was no sense in anybody handing out cigars. Lory considered arguing with her, but when she gave him Mio's death glare of doom, and some of her vengeance demons began to revive, he changed his mind and quietly took back the cigars, much to everyone's amusement. Kuu could be heard snickering loudly, until Sebastian pressed the 'mute' button on the computer, which resulted in another round of laughter, and a very indignant-looking Kuu, and a pouting Julie. Kyoko was only slightly worried when Maria started day-dreaming out loud about playing 'voodoo dolls' with her 'niece'.

As Kyoko feared, once she was five months in, and her growing belly became more difficult to hide, the press caught wind of it, and the tabloids ran wild. Dozens of rumours and accusations started floating around. LME was flooded with calls every day. Kyoko and Ren decided to do an interview, to help things die down a bit. That strategy had worked well for them when the media found out about Ren marrying a high school student. That interview put most of the rumour-mongers in their place, and set the record straight on the baby being a product of their honeymoon, rather than a cause of it. Ren made a point of asking the paparazzi to stop harassing them, because the stress they were putting on Kyoko wasn't good for the baby, and that any requests for interviews, photographs, etc, be addressed to them via his manager, Yashiro Yukihito, at LME.

Eventually, the hubbub died down. Kanae was proven to be right about there being no such thing as bad publicity, too, because if anything, Kyoko and Ren were getting far more job offers than they had been the year before. When Box R ended, Kyoko decided to take a break from work. When her contract as Bo came up for renewal, she decided not to renew it, despite the director who had once tried to fire her offering to double her salary. She focused on school instead, and spending time with Kuon. At seven months pregnant, she wrote both her 8th grade and 9th grade exams, and passed everything with flying colours. Overnight she found that she'd become very popular with the baby industry, so she took a few commercials and photo shoots. She would've gotten bored if she'd stopped working altogether, and she didn't want the entertainment industry to forget that she was still there.

Kuon and Kyoko did a great deal of house-hunting, and eventually found what they'd been looking for. A medium-sized, sturdy house which could comfortable fit a family of five or six, with a big garden, and only two trains away from LME. It was even traditionally styled, which reminded the couple of Kyoto. They loved it. Kuon was planning to redesign the huge soaking-tub room to look more like a natural hot-spring. There was a huge, ancient sakura tree in the garden, and a pond which Lory planned to fill with koi, as a house-warming gift. The baby shower had to be held at Lory's estate, for privacy, as well as because there were enough presents (mostly from Lory and Kuu) to fill an entire dining hall. Kyoko and Kuon grimaced when they saw it. There was no way they would possibly be able to fit everything into their new house, let alone the nursery. In the end, they decided that they'd accept everybody else's gifts, and accept only what they would still need from the endless presents Lory and Kuu had picked out. They would make the pair return whatever was left.

Kuu and Julia attended in person, which was wonderful for Kuon. Even though he wasn't ready yet to let the world know who he really was, being away from the parents he loved really did take a toll on the young man. Also, knowing that he was about to become a father, he wished that he could have his own father around more, to ask for advice and such. They discussed the issue, and decided to each set up a special e-mail account, just for parenting- and baby-related issues. Okami-san promised Kyoko that if she ever needed any advice or help, all she had to do was ask. And, of course, Uncle Lory was endlessly day-dreaming aloud about spoiling the living daylights out of the baby. Kuon and Kyoko both sent him constant death glares. They knew instinctively that he was the sort of uncle who would give their child enough candy to make them think it was Halloween every day of the year, and then send the sugared-up kid back home to them to deal with.


	13. The disfigured swan

A month before Kyoko's due date, things took a turn for the worst. She went into her dressing room, on the set for her latest commercial. She was promoting a new range of pregnancy vitamins. When the lunch break ended, she didn't come out. The manager she'd been assigned by Matsushima, who's care she was put under after she graduated the Love Me section by marrying Kuon, went to knock on the door, and get her back to the set. When nobody answered, she tried the handle, but it was locked from the inside. She continued knocking for a bit, but she still received no answer. Concerned for her pregnant charge, fearing that she may have collapsed or something, she called for help. Soon, a small group of crew men had forced the door open, only to find that the room was empty.

Megumi had only been Kyoko's manager for six months, from the time she got her first movie role, which served as her official debut. Still, in those few months, she'd gotten to know the young actress very well. When she saw the glass swan-shaped bottle of perfume which her husband had bought her last White Day, the perfume she called 'Odette', smashed on the floor, Megumi immediately knew that something was very, very wrong. She leant down, and picked up the severed head. Its beak and crown were badly chipped, and one cheek was completely gone. With a worried frown, she placed the sad trinket in her pocket. Kyoko would've been heartbroken to see her most treasured cosmetic in such a condition. She immediately contacted Matsushima, and told him to pass it on to President Takarada, and promised to keep investigating from her end.

CCTV footage was consulted, and the terrible truth was revealed. Kyoko was seen entering her dressing room at the start of the lunch break. Ten minutes later, an unidentifiable figure dressed all in black snuck in after her. Shortly after, the figure re-emerged with a large metal trolley covered over with a sheet. The figure quickly made their way to the parking lot, to a black van with heavily tinted windows, and no license plates. A second figure, dressed like the first, helped them transfer Kyoko's unconscious form from the trolley into the back of the van. Within seconds, the vehicle had disappeared.

X x X x X x X x X

Yashiro frowned at his phone. It was unusual for Matsushima to be calling at that time of day. Normally they had a standing appointment for every Monday morning, when Matsushima would pitch new roles and other job offers which Ren had been offered. Yashiro answered the phone anyway, discretely moving away from the set where Ren was acting out a scene for his latest movie. If it was Matsushima calling, it had to be important. The man never made trivial calls. He didn't have that kind of free time. "Hello? How can I help you, Matsushima-san?" Matsushima really didn't know how he was supposed to deliver his terrible news, but there was no time for beating around the bush, so he just got straight to the point.

"Yashiro-san, whatever Tsuruga-kun is in the middle of right now, get him out of it, and bring him to President Takarada's office. Tsuruga-chan was taken from her dressing room this morning. She's been kidnapped." Yashiro paled. When Kuon heard this… Those kidnappers were going to be ripped limb from limb. Nobody would ever find the pieces. "Thank you for informing us. We'll be there in twenty minutes." Yashiro quickly hung up, and walked over to the director. Director Abarai was annoyed when Tsuruga Ren's manager placed a hand on his shoulder to get his attention. They were in the middle of filming a long scene, the man should've known better than to interrupt his concentration. He was going to glare at him, to make him back off until the scene was done, but something in Yashiro's expression stopped him.

Once Yashiro had his attention, he quickly whispered his message. "My apologies, Director Abarai. I've just been informed that a serious emergency has arisen, regarding Ren's wife. He has to leave immediately." The director's annoyed look softened into one of concern. He was a husband too. If anything ever happened to his Rukia… "CUT!" On set, Ren froze, before looking to the director, surprised and confused. This was his first 'No Good' of the day, and he'd thought his acting had been just fine in this scene too. The director saw everybody's confusion. The scene really had been going smoothly. "Tsuruga-san, you need to talk to your manager. You're leaving early. We'll pick this scene up whenever you become available again. The rest of you, take ten, then check the board for this afternoon's new filming schedule. Sorry for the inconvenience, everyone. Thanks for your hard work."


	14. Alone again

AN: **Bold is spoken English.**

Ren stepped off the stage, clocked out, and let Kuon have his body back. Kuon frowned, and went over to his manager. "Yukihito, what's going on? Why are we leaving early all of a sudden?" Yashiro swallowed nervously. If he told Kuon everything right then and there, there'd be no stopping his rampage, and then the whole world would be introduced to 'Dark Kuon'. "Ren, the president has called an emergency meeting. It's extremely important." Kuon's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What's the emergency, Yukihito? It must be really serious for Boss to be interrupting my work like this. What aren't you telling me?" Yashiro just shook his head. "We can't do this here, it isn't safe. Just trust me, okay?" Kuon didn't like it, but he trusted Yashiro. The man wouldn't have known Tsuruga Ren's real name if Kuon didn't trust him.

When they got to Lory's office eighteen minutes later, Kuon could tell immediately that the emergency was indeed serious. The office was devoid of gaudy, themed decorations and members of the president's menagerie. Lory was wearing a completely normal business suit, and, most importantly, there were what looked like two members of Japan's version of the FBI sitting on Lory's coach. One of them was taking notes. Kuon spoke up, tired of being kept in the dark. "Lory, Yukihito, do either of you want to tell me what's going on here? What's happened?" Lory looked sharply at Yashiro. "You didn't tell him?" Yashiro shook his head. "Considering what his reaction will most likely be, I didn't think it would be safe to tell him in public. To be quite honest, I don't even want to be in Japan when Kuon finds out about this." Lory nodded once. "You made the right decision. Remind me to give you a raise."

Lory stood then, walked over to Kuon, and put his hands on his shoulders. "Kuon, what I'm about to tell you is going to make you extremely angry, and scared. You're going to desperately want to kill certain people. That's why, before I tell you why you're here, I'm going to tell you this. If you lose yourself to 'Dark Kuon', and you kill someone, you'll be going to jail for a long, long time. While you're in jail, Kyoko will have nobody to protect her, and your baby will have to grow up without a father, just like Kyoko did. Your wife needs you to be strong, now more than ever, Kuon. Think about that carefully before you give in to your rage." Kuon's jaw clenched, his hands fisted at his sides. His knuckles were turning white. "Boss, what's happened to Kyoko?" Lory gripped his shoulders tighter. "This morning, she was taken from her dressing room. She's been kidnapped."

Kuon's eyes flew wide open. "**NO! Boss, she's eight months pregnant! How could this happen?**" His eyes, filled with panic, started hardening with fury. "**Boss, we have to get them back home. I can find her, but if you let me go in myself, it'll be just like you said. I'll spend the rest of my life in solitary confinement in a maximum security prison, in a straight jacket.**" Lory nodded sharply once more, but there was new hope in his eyes. "You can find her? How?" Kuon showed him the evil smirk he hadn't known he was wearing when he fought as BJ. That smirk made Yashiro's blood run cold. He'd never seen such a psychotic expression in his life. He couldn't believe that the man wearing that expression was Tsuruga Ren. It was also strange for him, hearing Ren talk in fluent American-accented English.

"**Boss, you know what possessive, over-protective bastards the men in my family are. The day Kyoko told me she was pregnant, I bought her a watch with a GPS tracker in it. Haha, I had to lie and tell her that the diamonds it was studded with were glass fakes, just to get her to accept it. She'd probably skin me if she ever found out that they're actually real. She almost never takes it off, even when she's filming.**" Lory replied with a grin of his own. "**Well then, Kuon, what are we waiting for?**"

X x X x X x X x X

Kyoko woke up feeling cold and stiff. The room was so pitch black, she couldn't even see her fingers when she held them in front of her face. She had a splitting headache, and there was an awful coppery taste in her mouth, like she'd been sucking on an old coin all day. She decided she must be having some kind of strange, vivid nightmare. First, she tried to redirect her nightmare by thinking of happy things, like fairies, castles, and princesses. That worked sometimes. This time, however, nothing changed, so she sighed heavily, then pinched her thigh, hard, to wake herself up. When the darkness still failed to fade away, fear started to set in. "CORN! CORN, ARE YOU THERE? I NEED YOU, CORN! I'M LOST IN THE DARK! PLEASE, COME AND FIND ME, CORN! I don't want to be alone again…"


	15. Wrongs and rights

She waited, but there was no reply. There was just silence, cold, and the all-engulfing darkness. She whimpered, took off her engagement ring with the small pieces of Corn's magic stone, held it tight between her hands, and rocked back and forth, whispering to herself. "It's okay, I'm okay, we're okay, everything is okay. Corn will find us, and we'll be okay. The baby is okay. It's okay." When she felt a bit calmer, she put her ring back on, and gently massaged her swollen belly. "It's alright, Chibi. I'm going to keep you safe until Daddy gets here and takes us home. He'll find us soon, and he won't let anything bad happen to us. We're going to be just fine, I promise. Mommy and Daddy love you very much, so don't be afraid, okay?" The silence returned, making Kyoko's chest ache with anxiety. That silence made her want to scream until her throat was raw, just to break it.

She considered exploring the area, and trying to find out more about where she was, but she didn't think it would be safe to move around in such thick darkness. If she tripped or stumbled, or walked into something, the baby might get hurt. Her eyes adjusted as best they could, but she still couldn't see more than about a foot in front of her. She was sitting on an old, musty mattress. When she felt around the edges, she found a bucket against one side. She assumed the bucket was supposed to be a substitute for a Chamber Pot. The thin mattress was completely bare, and she couldn't find any sheets or blankets. It was so cold…

X x X x X x X x X

Saena smirked to herself, swirling wine in her glass. It was the cheap stuff, but it wouldn't be that way much longer. She would wait a day to send out her ransom demand. It would give them time to sweat, so they'd be less resistant when she named her price. There was no doubt in her mind that every yen Kyoko had in her possession rightfully belonged to HER. After all, SHE was the one who gave birth to the ungrateful little bitch. Many people had told her she should get an abortion. Who the hell gave birth to the spawn of married men these days? She'd naively believed that if she had the child, Kenichi would leave his ugly old wife for her, but the asshole had flatly refused. She wished then, with all of her might, that she had aborted the baby after all, but by then it was much too late. She gave up trying to convince Kenichi when Kyoko was six, and abandoned the brat to the Fuwas. They were only too happy to gain a future wife for their useless lump of a son.

She could've just driven her to the middle of a forest, and left her there to die. She'd been tempted. But no, she'd left her with a family which was willing to feed, cloth, and train her in a trade skill. Well, if Kyoko was too heartless and selfish to help her own mother during tough times, she'd just have to TAKE what was hers. And, just to teach her a lesson, she was going to make sure that Kyoko never met her first-born child. Maybe then she'd appreciate the role of a mother a little better. Saena laughed in a Mio-like fashion before downing the red liquid in her glass, a diamond-studded watch glinting in the dim light.

X x X x X x X x X

Kuon cursed as he glared at the hand-held monitor. He'd had to buy a tracker small enough to conceal within the watch he'd bought her, but even the most expensive, highest quality device of that size only had a range of 10km. If she was outside, in the open air, she could be picked up by satellites anywhere in the world, but he somehow doubted her kidnappers had any plans of taking her to a park. With such a short hand-held range, even if Kyoko was still somewhere within Tokyo, it could take a day or two to find her this way. If she'd been taken outside of Tokyo, then it could take weeks, or even months to find her. They did NOT have that kind of time. The government agents were working on obtaining records showing the last location where Kyoko's GPS signal was detected by satellites, while Lory had contacted the GPS manufacturers to buy out their entire stock of hand-held signal receivers.

While both sides waited for the wheels to turn, Kuon drove a grid-pattern through Tokyo, while Yashiro kept his eyes on the monitor in his lap. He wore gloves on both hands, just in case. He didn't even want to CONTEMPLATE what Kuon would do to him if he accidentally killed the only receiver they had with his alien skin. They'd been driving for three hours, and there was still no news. Nobody had received a ransom demand, a call from the kidnapper, nothing. If they didn't receive one by the end of the next morning, it would mean that, either the kidnapper didn't want a ransom, just Kyoko, or that something had gone wrong, and Kyoko was dead. Either way, he'd most likely never see Kyoko again. By nightfall, Kuon was struggling to keep his rage from consuming him, but he had to keep his head, for the sake of his family. Every time he felt himself slipping into the darkness, he'd think of them, of his precious little baby. They needed HIM, not 'Dark Kuon'.


	16. Falling into the abyss

AN: Once again, spoken **English** is in **Bold**.

Lory finally managed to get the extra signal receivers, over a hundred of them, and was organizing the search party. The agents on the case eventually received access to the records they needed, which showed that Kyoko's GPS signal had last been detected an hour and a half after the CCTV footage said she'd been taken, somewhere in the heart of the industrial sector, so the search started from there and fanned out in all directions. Kuon's hands ached from gripping the steering wheel so hard, and for so long, but he was glad. The pain made him feel a little calmer. If he could still feel it, that meant he was still in control of himself. It was close to 9pm when he heard the first faint 'beep'. He let the car slow to a stop at the side of the road. He wanted to slam on the brakes, but that would have sent the little screen flying. Yashiro stared at him with excitement and triumph. Kuon pulled out his cell, and called Lory.

"**Boss, tell everyone to head over to the west side of the docks, and keep an eye out for my car. We've just got a faint signal.**" He hung up before Lory could reply or ask questions, and switched his phone off. He didn't want any distractions or interruptions. Soon he had the car moving again. "**Which way, Yuki?**" 'Yuki' blinked at his new name, slightly stunned, before turning back to the monitor. "Keep heading West for now, but keep an eye out for a place where you can turn right." Kuon smirked that dangerous look again. Yashiro shivered and paled. He didn't think he'd ever get used to seeing that face on his best friend. "I know this is really hard for you, Kuon, but you have to try to stay calm. If you lose control, you could get yourself killed, or wind up in jail. You'll be no good to anyone either way, if that happens. Kyoko-chan definitely won't thank you for leaving her alone, at the age of eighteen, with a baby to raise, not to mention depriving her child of a father."

Kuon's smirk shifted into a determined frown, as he took a few deep breaths. "Nobody knows that better than me, Yukihito. It's the only thing keeping me sane right now. I'm sorry you have to see me like this. I never wanted to be this Kuon, but I guess that's life. Kyoko is the only one who's ever been able to pull me back to myself when I get lost in 'Dark Kuon'. Without her, I would probably be dead by now. She was the one who saved me when I started slipping back into 'Dark Kuon' because I couldn't figure out 'Katsuki', and again when I started letting out too much of 'Dark Kuon' for my role as Black Jack. I need her more than you could possibly understand. I'm nothing but trash without her by my side. Not having her here, with me, scares the shit out of me.

If I lose her, I'll never be able to become the man she deserves, the fairy prince with wings which let me fly freely. My wings will get ripped to shreds again, and this time, I'll fall into the abyss. If I lose her, if I lose them, I'll lose myself too. There'll be nothing left but 'Dark Kuon', and he'll drink, smoke, and fight himself into an early grave. Nobody will be able to save me. I have to find them, Yukihito." A single tear flowed from his left eye, and stopped halfway down his cheek. Yashiro looked at his best friend with overwhelming pain and sadness in his eyes. The thought of that happening to Ren, of being forced to watch him spiral into a self-destruct, and being completely helpless to save him, made his chest tight. "Don't be scared, Kuon. We're going to find them. They aren't far off now. Just take the next right you see. Everything is going to be okay."

Kuon just nodded, but Yashiro could see the pain, fear, and anger warring for dominance in his eyes. Soon, they turned right, heading deeper into the large warehouse district. Other cars which they recognised as belonging to the search team begun to join them and the beeping from the monitor on Yashiro's lap grew a tiny bit louder, and more frequent. Kuon switched his phone back on, and called Lory again. "**What's the latest, Boss? Has anyone found the building yet?**" Lory growled, and bit out his response. "The next time you switch off your phone, you're fired. Seventeen cars have picked up the signal, and everyone else is heading your way. They haven't got the exact building yet, but they're almost there. I've called those agents, some of their men are on the search team already, but they're sending out every available team.

When you have the right building, you have to hang back and wait for the rest of the agents to get there. No civilians are allowed to go in, no exceptions. I swear on Maria's pretty little head, Kuon, if you go in there before the agents have cleared the building, I'll kill you myself." Kuon smirked. "**Yeah yeah, I hear you Boss. I'll wait for the all-clear. If I get shot tonight, you won't have to kill me. Kyoko will do it herself. You know how much she hates it when I don't take care of my body.**" Kuon hung up and tossed his cell in the cubby with one hand. "Kuon, the signal is getting stronger. You'll need to take a left soon." Kuon nodded, still smirking, and kept an eye on the left for the next turnoff. They were getting close…


	17. Stilettos in the dark

AN: I have a contest for you! Anyone who can guess what I've named Kyoko's and Kuon's baby will win the whole of the rest of this story e-mailed to their personal account! I won't reveal the baby's gender yet, so you'll have to guess names for girls and boys. You can try as many times as you like, no limits. Good luck everyone!

X x X x X x X x X x X x X

Kyoko huddled on the mattress, shivering. Thanks to the baby she had sitting on her bladder, she'd had to use the bucket seven times already, and the smell was starting to make her feel sick. She was also painfully hungry and thirsty. She wondered how long she'd be left there, alone, with no food or water. She tried not to think about it, but sometimes she'd feel an overwhelming fear that she was being left there to slowly starve or dehydrate to death. She constantly rubbed her belly, trying to keep the baby warm and calm.

She knew that if she got too stressed, it could cause her to go into labour early, and she was afraid that if she had the baby now, it wouldn't survive without medical help. Its lungs were probably insufficiently developed. She had to do her best to stay calm, and trust that her Corn would find them soon. She talked to herself constantly to fight the fear which the silence draped over her, even though her throat felt so dry that talking was painful. When she got tired of repeating the same reassurances, she started telling the baby fairytales, and singing nursery rhymes, anything she could think of. She was halfway through one of her favourites, 'Mary Mary', when a door opened, and she was blinded painfully by the sudden light.

Saena cursed under her breath. How the hell had they found her so fast? At first she'd assumed that the search party was just combing likely areas, looking for anything which seemed out of place, but they were circling her now like moths to a light-bulb. Something was drawing them towards her, but what? The cheeky brat must have some kind of device on her, a hidden cellphone, perhaps. Cops could trace cellphones these days. Whatever it was, she had to find it, destroy it, and then move Kyoko to her fallback location, before the searchers got too close. Saena had no idea that the watch she'd stolen from Kyoko's limp wrist in the van was the beacon she was searching for.

There may have been light in the room now, but Kyoko's eyes had been adjusting to inky darkness for several hours now. The light only blinded her, and gave her migraine a loud wake-up call. She scrunched her eyes as tightly shut as was physically possible, and bit back a whimper. She heard footsteps, the click-clacking of high heels told her there was now another woman in the room. They sounded hurried and upset, each footfall was unnecessarily loud, and quick. But perhaps that was just her hearing being heightened due to the painfully heavy silence she'd endured since she'd woken up.

Kyoko flinched when the footsteps stopped, and a hand shot out to grab her arm in a vice-like grip. She was roughly yanked up, but her captor wasn't strong enough to pull her to her feet. The baby's added weight made her too heavy. When Kyoko didn't climb to her feet voluntarily, the woman slapped her hard across her face. Not wanting to risk getting hit again, knowing that the baby's health was directly linked to her body's condition, she quickly slipped her legs over the edge of the mattress, and tried to stand. She was too low on the ground, sitting on that thin mattress, and she was too heavy and awkward to make it to a standing position on her own, but her captor was only too happy to help her up by giving her arm another painful tug.

The next thing Kyoko knew, she was being haphazardly but thoroughly frisked. After a couple of minutes she heard a frustrated 'Hmph!', then her belly was slapped just as hard as her face had been. Kyoko screamed, tried to take a step back, and placed her left hand protectively over her stomach. She wanted to explode at the woman, to say 'Can't you see I'm pregnant?', but even in the darkness, her huge belly was obvious. Clearly this demon woman had no qualms with hurting a pregnant woman, or risking the life of her unborn baby. That scared Kyoko more than anything ever had in her entire life. She knew now that just acting complacent, and trying not to antagonize her kidnappers wouldn't be enough. If she wanted to protect her child, she had to escape.


	18. The rings

AN: The competition is now closed. We have a winner! I'll anounce who when the baby's been born. Sorry, I just don't want to spoil the surprise for you guys. :-D Sorry I kept you guys waiting for this chapter for so long, I hope you enjoy it.

X x X x X x X x X

Saena trembled with suppressed anger. If she couldn't find whatever it was that was attracting the troublesome little bitch's would-be rescuers, there would be no point in moving her to the fall-back location. Still, in another minute or two, she'd have no choice. They were getting much too close for comfort. She shook Kyoko's arm violently, hurting the already bruised flesh. Disguising her voice, making it sound low like a man's, she gave in to desperation, and asked Kyoko where she was hiding the tracking beacon. Kyoko's eyebrows shot up with surprise at the question, at the same time as her heart filled up with hope and determination. If she really had some kind of beacon which she didn't know about, all she had to do was get away and hide. Kuon would definitely find her before too long.

First, she had to be able to see. Her eyes were slowly getting used to the light flooding in through the door. Soon, she was able to open her eyes a little. When Saena saw the stubborn brat starting to open her eyes, she spun her around, twisting her arm behind her back. She was too rough, and Kyoko screamed as a ligament was torn. Time was up. She had to destroy that beacon, NOW. "Tell me where it is, or I'll plunge my little knife into your baby!" She hissed the words with such venom, Kyoko didn't doubt for a second that she'd fail to follow through on her threat. "I don't know, I swear it! Nobody ever told me I had such a device! My husband probably gave it to me without telling me what it really was, because he knew I wouldn't approve of something like that!"

Saena twisted her arm a little harder, sending flaming agony shooting through her shoulder and into her back. "Then tell me what he's given you, it's probably something you have on you every day!" Kyoko thought quickly. She only had one thing fitting that description, and for some reason she couldn't feel it on her wrist. Her heart sank, but she knew she'd been wearing it when she'd been taken, and it seemed it was still attracting her rescuers to where they were, or her kidnapper wouldn't be looking for it, so her captor probably had it. It had a lot of realistic-looking fake diamonds in it, so it made sense that they would have stolen it from her the moment they'd seen it.

Her baby would still be safer if she ran and hid, she'd just have to make sure she didn't run too far, so that when help came past, tracking her kidnapper, she could reveal herself to them. In the meantime, she had to come up with a reasonable replacement to draw her kidnapper's attention away from the real beacon. "My wedding ring! Even when I'm on set, I always put it in my pocket if I have to take it off! That must be it!" She felt her captor yank off both her wedding and engagement rings, and heard them get tossed away. She silently cursed at the horrible loss, and vowed to return and find her rings when this was all over.

X x X x X x X x X

Every muscle in Kuon's body hummed with tension as he waited beside his car while the government agents and the local police force swarmed the warehouse, and searched it. Yashiro stood next to him, eyeing him nervously. He was on the verge of just saying 'Fuck it!', and running inside, consequences be damned, when Agent Hisagi, the agent in charge of the whole operation, walked swiftly over to him. He held out his hand, palm up, and the breath vanished from Kuon's lungs. "Kyoko's rings…" Hisagi nodded sharply. "The good news is, we didn't find any blood, or tools which could be used for torture." Kuon paled at the mention of that word. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind before. He had to find her…

Hisagi continued, pretending not to notice the change in the man he was speaking to. "We did find evidence suggesting she was kept here all day, but her kidnappers must have moved her when they noticed us closing in. I don't know how they could've gotten past us, but they did. The signal from Tsuruga-chan's beacon suddenly grew faint a few minutes ago. The manufacturers told us that such an occurrence is most likely due to the beacon being taken underground, or inside a vault of some sort. My men are searching for concealed exits as I speak." Kuon nodded slightly in acknowledgement.


	19. Down the rabbit hole

AN: Wow! 100 reviews! Thank you so much everyone, I've never gotten so much love for one of my fanfictions before. You've really made my entire month! ^.^ When I got 50 reviews a while back, I promised everyone that, if I got 50 reviews I'd give you 3 new chapters on one day. I honestly had every intention of doing that. But then I realized that there are only a few chapters left of this story. There will only be 4 more, 23 chapters in total. That's why I decided that, while I'm still going to reward everyone for being kind enough to take the time to send me a review, I'm only going to post 2 new chapters today, instead of 3 like I said before. I want to give you guys the joy of this story a little longer. Please forgive me! I love all you guys so much!

X x X x X x X x X

"Do you have any idea why her rings may have been removed? Without her engagement ring, Kyoko will be very unhappy. The stones in it have a personal meaning to us. They've always given her comfort and reassurance whenever she's been deeply upset." Hisagi frowned, but nodded. "We have two theories. We believe either your wife left them behind on purpose, for us to find as proof that she was here, or her kidnappers have realised that she has some kind of beacon in her possession, and they're discarding whatever they think might be concealing it. Luckily the watch wasn't left behind, so we can still track Tsuruga-chan, but if either of our theories is correct, then it's very likely that the watch will be discarded next time, or worse. This next raid has to be successful. We won't get a third chance."

Kuon nodded, his jaw and fists tightly clenched. "In that case, we should rethink our strategy. This time the kidnappers ran because we stormed in like ants swarming a crumb. We need to be more subtle this time." The agent gave Kuon a wry smile. "Agreed. We're having volunteers retreat to the borders of the ward and set up a perimeter. In the mean time, our agents are tracking the faint signal. I assume you're with our team. Put this on, keep your head down, and stay behind my team at all times. If you get shot, you'll just slow us down. The first sign of trouble from you, and I'll have you escorted directly to President Takarada, even at the expense of being left with a smaller team. Understood?"

Kuon donned the Kevlar vest the agent had handed to him. He grinned with determination, and just a hint of 'Dark Kuon'. He was finally starting to feel a little less helpless. His reply was completely devoid of hesitation. "On all counts, Sir. Yukihito, are you coming?" His manager beside him nodded, exuding an aura of grim determination. "Of course. I may not be a man of much experience in life-threatening situations, but my Paintball team did win the national championship five years running in high school. I think it's safe to say I can avoid being shot. Besides, have you forgotten what Kyoko did to me the last time I let you skip lunch? She will skin me alive if I let you go in there without me." Agent Hisagi organised a vest for Yashiro, and the men headed into the building.

When they got to the cavernous back room where the rings had been found, Agent Hisagi pulled a monitor from a duffel bag and showed it to his team. "This is a prototype receiver which the GPS company has been working on. It amplifies the signal from the beacon, so the closer together they get, the stronger the signal. Thing's like a damn bloodhound. We'll use this from now on, since we're closing in on them. The safety of Tsuruga-chan is our top priority. If her kidnappers try to use her as a shield, Ichimaru is the only one cleared to fire. He hasn't missed a target in fifteen years. We have to maintain a steady pace, they've got quite a head-start on us, but be careful of traps and potential ambush sites. I don't want to lose any of you down there. Once we're in the tunnels, not a sound from any of you. Hand signals only. Everyone ready?"

When he'd received a complete round of "Yes sir!", he lead the way through a concealed door, and down some steps, into a series of labyrinthine tunnels. They were most likely old smuggling passages. There was no telling where they went, and they definitely wouldn't appear on any official city records. They marked the walls as they went along, so they'd be able to find their way back, but the tunnels were quite extensive. With adrenaline throbbing in each man's ears, they moved silently along, trying to find evidence of where the kidnappers had gone, but with ankle-deep water flooding the passages, not even dogs could have picked up a trail. They were in for a VERY long night.

X x X x X x X x X

Saena blindfolded Kyoko as soon as she'd tossed the rings away, and dragged her into the secret passageways beneath the building. She handcuffed the struggling brat to the back of the little jeep which was waiting for them there. They were both sweating from the heat of the tunnels, so her grip on Kyoko's arm had almost been starting to slip. The tunnels were just barely wide enough for the small vehicle, but it wasn't a major problem. She pulled the map she'd made of the place out of the glove compartment, and started down the route she'd marked out. She stroked the diamonds on her new watch to comfort herself that, even if she wound up having to dump the little bitch, all would not be lost. That many diamonds had to be worth a small fortune. Anyway, she could always try again another day. No matter what she had to do, she WAS going to get her money.


	20. Through the slats

The tunnels were impressively extensive. Saena had explored every meter of them in the last few months, mapping them out as she went. They lead to at least three other buildings quite far away from the warehouse. They also lead to several underground chambers with no doorways to the surface, which had most likely been storage rooms in the past. One of these would suffice for the night. In the morning they could move on to an abandoned office building on the other side of the harbour.

The walls and floors of every tunnel had been lined with layers of concrete and plastic to prevent ground water from seeping in, but there was still enough water on the floor to force Saena to drive slowly. After decades of not being used, leaks had arisen in the tunnels' protective barriers. They drove in complete silence for the next twenty minutes. Saena glared at the path in front of her and grinded her teeth. Kyoko gently massaged the left side of her belly, where she'd been slapped, and hoped that the occasional ache she'd started to feel was just residual pain from the blow, or hunger pangs. She couldn't be in labour. It was too early.

X x X x X x X x X

Kuon wanted nothing more than to go charging down the path blindly and recklessly, screaming out his wife's name, but he suppressed those useless urges, and behaved himself. He wasn't going to be a burden to Kyoko's search team, no matter what. It wouldn't help his family in the least if he lost control. Yashiro stuck to his side like glue. Seeing his best friend there was a big help. His reassuring presence helped him to feel a bit calmer. A single agent brought up the rear behind them, keeping an eye out for surprise attacks. Kuon almost hoped there would be one, so he'd get to fight somebody. His hands itched to hold a gun. Thanks to his father's tutelage with handling stage guns and BB-guns, he had been an excellent shot since he was eight. As a teenager, one of the ways he'd taken out his anger and frustrations had been spending hours at a time at the local shooting range. It might have been five years since then, but his hands could still remember the comforting feeling of a Glock 22's grip.

The team was moving quickly, and the signal had gotten stronger the moment they entered the tunnels, but ever since then it had only been getting weaker. Hisagi had come to the conclusion that they were on some sort of slow-moving vehicle. Kuon silently cursed when he heard the agent say that, but he comforted himself with the knowledge that Lory's army of volunteers had set up two perimeters, one around the warehouse, and one around the general area. There was no chance of Kyoko's kidnappers making off with her. He was just scared that by cornering them like this, they'd feel driven to take drastic measures, like hurting Kyoko. He couldn't let that happen, no matter what. After half an hour of fumbling about in the dark, and hitting a number of dead ends, the signal finally started to grow stronger. Kuon's heartbeat started to speed up to match it. They were getting closer…

X x X x X x X x X

Kyoko clenched her teeth in pain as another contraction hit. She mentally cursed, and begged the baby to hold on a little longer. She knew it was no good, though. She'd already felt her water break. She couldn't see anything since she'd been blindfolded, but she felt the vehicle stop, and soon she heard her handcuffs get unlocked. The small hands of a woman gripped her hair, pulling several strands out as she was dragged away. The two kept moving for a minute, changing direction every so often. After what felt like a long time, but probably wasn't, she was pushed into what felt like a wooden wardrobe, and the door was locked. She felt the door, and breathed a sigh of relief when she realized that it had heavy, solid slats, so she wouldn't suffocate. She pulled off her blindfold now that her hands were free, and tried to see through the door, but the angle of the slats made it very difficult. She could only make out the shape of a person.

She waited to hear if the person would say anything, but they didn't, so Kyoko went back to rubbing her belly and humming lullabies. Tears began to form in her eyes when she started thinking about Kuon. Where was he? What was taking him so long? She needed him. The baby needed him. 'Please, Kuon, hurry up and come find us!' Suddenly, the woman in the room shouted, and smoke started to drift into the wardrobe. Kyoko's eyes went wide, and she lifted the front of her shirt to cover her mouth and nose. She silently thanked the heavens that she didn't happen to be wearing something with a low neckline. When her eyes started to sting, she closed them, and prayed that she wasn't about to die in a fire. Where had that smoke come from? !


	21. Keeping a promise

Kuon bit his lip until it bled down his chin, while he listened to the chaos inside the room they'd discovered. To minimise the risk to Kyoko, they'd thrown a smoke grenade inside to confuse and disorient the kidnappers, then they'd stormed inside, wearing gas masks. Seconds later, they'd dragged a woman out, and Kuon's expression turned murderous. "**YOU!**" He lunged for Saena, but Yashiro and two agents held him back. "REN! STOP IT! YOU'RE HERE TO HELP KYOKO, NOT TO KILL HER MOTHER!" Kuon growled loudly. "**IN THIS CASE, I'LL BE DOING BOTH IN ONE GO! LET GO OF ME!**" Then, out of the corner of his blood-filled eyes, he saw six agents awkwardly carrying an old-fashioned wooden wardrobe out of the smoky room. A piercing cry rang out over their grunts. Kuon froze. That cry… KYOKO!

When Yashiro noticed that Kuon's focus had shifted, and heard Kyoko's pained scream, he let go of his friend, and indicated to the agents to do the same. One wasn't fast enough, and got sent sprawling as Kuon shook him off roughly. Hisagi was directing the movement of the wardrobe. He stopped Kuon with a glare and a hand on his shoulder. "Your wife is inside, and we think she may be hurt, but she's still conscious. The wardrobe is locked, and we can't find the key. We think Mogami might have swallowed it. Trying to break the damn thing open without tools might cause injury to your wife. I'm sending my men to get crowbars. You'll have her back soon, so just be patient for now." The look Kuon gave Hisagi froze the veteran agent's blood solid. "**Let me through so I can talk with my wife. I need to know if the baby is alright.**"

He brushed past the frozen agent without waiting for a reply, and went over to the wardrobe which the others had set down. Now that they weren't groaning and huffing with effort, he could hear his Kyoko's breathing. It sounded strained, and he could hear an odd whimper. He knelt down, and lay a shaking hand against the door. He took a deep breath, shoved 'Dark Kuon' as far down as he could, and spoke. She was here. She was safe now. He'd found her in time. It was going to be okay. "Kyoko, it's me. I've come for you." He heard a loud gasp, then, "KUON! Kuon, you have to get us out of here! The baby is coming!" His eyes shot wide. "What? But it's too soon! You're only eight months along!" She sobbed, and barely managed to get out her reply. "I know, but after that woman slapped my stomach, I started getting contractions, and a while ago my water broke! Kuon, you have to get us to a hospital right away! I'm really scared for the baby!" Kuon felt his heart break a little. The thought of losing the baby… He couldn't do it. He couldn't let that happen.

"Kyoko, they can't find a key for the wardrobe. I'm going to have to break it open. Do you trust me?" Kyoko gave a feeble little laugh. "Of course I do! More than anything!" Kuon smiled his loving smile, and for the first time since he'd found out she'd been taken, 'Dark Kuon' slowly began to fade back into the deepest recesses of his soul. "Brace yourself, Kyoko. I'm going to need to tip the wardrobe on its back. That's the only safe way I can do this." Even though she couldn't see him, she nodded. "I'm ready! Do whatever you need to, just get us out of here!" Kuon got the agents to help him, and together they carefully laid the wardrobe on its back. "Kyoko, duck down as far as you can, and cover your head with your hands, just in case!" She shouted back to him. "Okay, I'm ready. Go for it, Kuon!"

He lay on his back on the wardrobe, carefully gripped the sides, and brought both his feet down, hard, on the middle of the edge of the roof panel. Pain shot up his heels, but he ignored it, and kicked out again and again. On the fourth kick, the wood gave an almighty creak, and a crack formed in it. By the seventh, the wood began to buckle. He couldn't feel his feet anymore, and he could vaguely hear the agents around him telling him to stop and let them have a turn, before he hurt himself, but he ignored them. On the ninth kick, the wood finally gave way and broke in two, the halves barely hanging on to the walls of the wardrobe. He swung around and tried to stand, but collapsed to his hands and knees when excruciating pain shot up both his legs.

He watched as Yashiro crawled into the top of the wardrobe, and started pulling Kyoko out. When she was out, she crawled straight over to him, and he threw his arms about her. His arms shook from the effort of trying not to hug her too tightly. It was killing him to be so gentle with her. "Kuon! We knew you'd come for us! We never doubted it! We weren't scared at all, because we knew you were going to find us!" Kuon couldn't speak, he could barely breath, so he just nodded. His chest was tight with relief, and tears were forming in his eyes. He pulled back, lifted her shirt up over her stomach, and leant down to kiss and rub her belly.

"I promised I'd protect my most precious people. You're going to be okay now. I'm going to take you to the hospital, and you're going to have the baby, and everything will be alright." Kyoko nodded, tears streaming down her face. "You did a good job, Kuon. You found us. We'll be okay now. Let's get to the hospital, okay? I don't want to have the baby down here." Kuon nodded, and tried to stand again, but he fell again with a pained grimace. Hisagi stepped forward, and helped him over to the Jeep, while Yashiro stepped over to Kyoko, and picked her up bridal-style. He was surprised by how little she weighed, especially since she was eight months pregnant. He carried her easily to the Jeep. The three men and Kyoko drove back to the warehouse, following the markers the team had left as they'd gone along. The rest of Hisagi's men followed them back on foot, Ichimaru in charge of the prisoner for the rest of the night.


	22. A new beginning

As soon as they were back above ground, Yashiro call Lory to update him on the situation, and Lory promised to call ahead to the hospital and book the best room available for Kyoko and the baby; make sure Kyoko's OBGYN would be there; and ensure that all of Kyoko and Kuon's important people met them at the hospital. By the time the four arrived at the ward's local hospital, Shinagawa General, Kotonami Kanae, Takarada Maria, Taisho, Okami-san, Hizuri Kuu, and Hizuri Julie were all waiting for them. The Hizuri pair were in disguise, but Kuon and Kyoko could spot them a mile away. The only one missing was Lory, who was still co-ordinating the volunteers from the search party, and dismantling the operation. Kyoko and Kuon were both brought into the hospital in wheelchairs, side by side, but Kuon refused to let anybody treat his feet.

He insisted on staying with Kyoko until the baby had been born, and he knew it would be alright. He held her hand as the waves of pain grew closer together, and Kyoko's doctor finally told her she could push. Twenty minutes later, with a heart-wrenching scream, Kyoko brought her baby into the world. She didn't even get to see her baby before the nurses took the tiny figure away, to the side of the room. "Kuon, what's going on? Is the baby okay? Why isn't it crying?" Kuon squeezed her hand tighter. "Don't worry, Kyoko. I'm sure the doctors will sort it out. The baby's going to be fine. Just squeeze my hand, okay?" After a few tense moments, they both let out shuddering sighs of relief when they heard the weak cries of their baby, but soon the infant was taken away in an incubator. They watched nervously as it was wheeled out of the room.

Kyoko turned to her OBGYN, worry obvious in her eyes. "Matsumoto-sensei, is our baby going to be alright?" The buxom blonde walked over to them, and gave them a reassuring smile. "His lungs are a little weak, but he's going to be just fine. He's very healthy for an eighth-month preemie." Kyoko smiled wide. "He? We had a boy?" Matsumoto nodded in confirmation. Kyoko turned to look at Kuon, who was smiling his most dazzling smile. "Kuon, we had a boy! We have a son!" He just nodded, too happy to speak. "What do you think we should call him?" Kuon looked away and thought about it for a moment. "How about… Kiseki?" Kyoko smiled a little wider. "Miracle? That's perfect! Hizuri Kiseki… Hah! It's even another 'K' name!"

Kuon leaned forward, placed his hand on his wife's cheek, and gently kissed her. "Thank you so much, Kyoko. I'm so proud of you." Kyoko started crying again, and Kuon gently wiped the tears away. "Oh! Kuon, your feet! Didn't you hurt them when you kicked the roof off that wardrobe? Go let the doctors take care of you. Kiseki is going to be alright now, and I'm alright now. You have to take care of yourself too. Don't make me call Yukihito-kun in here. You know I'll do it!" Kuon chuckled at her, nodded, and wheeled himself out the door. "I'll be back in an hour or two. Do you want me to send any of the visitors in?" Kyoko thought about it, then nodded. "Send in Moko. It's been a while since I last saw her. She only just got back from her shoot in Italy." Kuon nodded, and left.

When he returned an hour and a half later, with a cast on each of his severely fractured legs, Maria and Kanae were sitting next to the bed, watching an exhausted Kyoko sleep, and chatting quietly with each other. Yashiro was there too, leaning against the wall near the door. "Hello, Yukihito. How long has she been asleep for?" Yashiro started at Kuon's voice. He'd been deep in thought, so he hadn't heard the man wheel himself in. "Oh, there you are. She's been out for the last hour or so. How are your legs?" Kuon grimaced and looked away. "Compound fractures in both Tibia and Fibula, and a couple of broken heel bones. I won't be able to walk for a while. That wood was harder than it looked. Must have been oak or something. No wonder it was so heavy."

Yashiro just sighed with a wry smile, and shook his head. Kuon went back to questioning his friend, trying to change the subject before Yashiro could start scolding him about taking care of his body. Honestly, some days he didn't know who was stricter with him, Yashiro or Kyoko. "Has the doctor come by at all? Have you heard anything about the baby?" Yashiro shook his head. "The doctor came by once, but she didn't say anything. She just checked the monitors, smiled at us, and left. Lory's here though, he sent all of the volunteers to his mansion for dinner before they head home. He's put Sebastian in charge of them.

Him, your parents, and Taisho and Okami-san all stopped by for a second to check on Kyoko, then headed over to the neonatal ward to watch Kiseki through the window. Nice name, by the way. It suits him, given the way he's come out unscathed after everything he's been through. I haven't seen him yet, but I was thinking of taking Kanae and Maria up. They just wanted to wait until you got back. They didn't want Kyoko to wake up alone." Kuon nodded, and wheeled over to the girls to greet them, and thank them for staying with Kyoko. Soon they left to look at the baby, and the next time anybody came by to check on the young couple, Kuon was sleeping with his head on the bed, and one arm draped about Kyoko's waist.

X x X x X x X x X

AN: Congratulations to wolfyangel123, who won my baby-name competition. She was the only one who guessed that it was 'Kiseki'. I hope you liked your prize! ^.^


	23. Epilogue

It took roughly two months for Kuon's legs to heal completely, and return to their original strength and tone. Kiseki did well in the hospital, and was able to be discharged after only two weeks. Luckily, the nursery had been fully prepared long in advance by the overly enthusiastic Kuon, who had been every bit as much of an idiot-parent as his father from the day Kyoko told him she was pregnant. Thus, the nursery was ready for almost a full month before their baby was born so early. They'd wanted the gender of the baby to be a surprise, and their home was an old-fashioned one with screen doors, so they'd gone for the neutral theme of a clearing in the woods, beside a river. It reminded them of the special place where they'd met as children. Someday they hoped to take their children to the real clearing.

Kiseki may not have had many blood relatives, with only two grandparents known to him, and no aunts, uncles, or cousins, but he had enough surrogate family members to sink a ship, and each one of them was more than happy to help the young couple to look after their favourite chibi while Kuon was recovering and Kyoko was working. That baby spent more time at LME than at home some days, being passed from admirer to admirer. His ink-black hair and ethereal blue eyes enthralled everyone who came across him. Of course, being the possessive son-of-a-Hizuri that he was, Kuon had bought his son a cute bunny brooch which doubled as, you guessed it, a GPS tracker. His son had already been kidnapped once, before he'd even been born. There was a snowball's chance in hell that he'd be letting anything bad happen to Kiseki ever again.

Saena's trial lasted a few years. She tried to plead insanity, but in the end she was sent away for two lifetimes in a notorious maximum security prison which had a reputations for prisoners not making it out alive, or in one piece. The judge took care to note that only a real psycho would kidnap a heavily pregnant woman, let alone one which was a blood relative. They also found the accomplice who had been seen on the CCTV cameras, the man who'd taken Kyoko from her dressing room while Saena waited in the van. It turned out to be one of LME's stage hands. He was arrested, and wound up getting fifteen years in jail.

In took a lot of string-pulling, but Takarada Lory was not called 'the President' for nothing, so he was able to keep the whole mess out of the news. All the public knew was that, due to some mild complications, the child of Tsuruga Ren and Tsuruga Kyoko had been born a month early, but was healthy and doing well. Ren's legs were explained away as the results of a small car accident which he'd been involved in due to his panic at receiving the news that Kyoko had gone into labour, and his reckless driving to the hospital to get there before the baby was delivered.

Nobody was expecting Fuwa Shotarou to show his face at LME after his public ass-kicking at Ren's hands, but he showed up the week after Kyoko and Kiseki were released from the hospital. When he saw the baby, he had to look away with disgust in his eyes, but he managed to congratulate his old friend, and apologise for his past behaviour. Kyoko told him that she could forgive him for many of the things he'd done to her, but she could never forgive him for his attitude towards her child. He left without saying another word, and he never bothered them again.

Vie Ghoul's Reino, or 'the Beagle' had stopped stalking Kyoko after she'd married Kuon, since getting touched by that man was similar to watching the world's most disturbing horror movie, but he still sent Kyoko the odd rose with its thorns still attached, or chocolates with symbols of loathing iced on them. Once, just to freak her out, he'd sent her a dead mouse. Kuon contemplated hunting the man down and disembowelling him, but Kyoko forbade it since the man had never actually harmed her, or taken any notice of Kiseki. She knew the man would never actually try anything. He acted like a badass ice-prince, but he was actually quite physically weak. He wouldn't last a split second in a fight against her magnificent husband.

The couple continued to act, rising in fame and popularity. When Kiseki was four years old, they gave him a little sister, which Kyoko named 'Kumiko'. The complete opposite of her big brother, the little girl was born blond, with her mother's golden eyes. She looked just like Kuon had as a baby. When the whole family moved to America, when Kumiko was two years old, Kuon got used to talking in English all the time again, and took to calling her 'Sunshine'. All things considered, it was most definitely a happily-ever-after kind of thing.


End file.
